a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a holder for a vertical section of an architectural covering, such as a drape or a vaned fabric for covering an architectural opening, like a window or door. This invention particularly relates to a holder for vertically arranged louvers of a louvered Venetian blind.
b. Background Art
Vertical Venetian blinds have generally been provided with a horizontally-extending head rail, in which there have been several carriers that can be moved along the length of the head rail. Each carrier has typically supported a vertically-extending louver in such a manner that the consumer of the Venetian blind could move the louver along the length of the head rail and also could rotate the louver about its vertical axis. For example, carriers have each included a drive hub of a gear wheel driven by a worm gear, and the drive hub has supported a depending louver holder that has been adapted to support securely the top portions of a louver while the carrier has been moving and turning the louver holder and the louver. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,775.
Different types of louver holders have been provided in carriers for vertical Venetian blinds. For example, louver holders have held upper marginal portions of louvers between their pairs of downwardly-extending pinching fingers. See German Gebrauchsmuster 85 23 104, German Offenlegungschrift 27 15 018 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,309. Louver holders have also held upper marginal portions of louvers on hooks that are provided on their downwardly-extending fingers and that extend through apertures in the upper marginal portions of the louvers. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,775. However, the grip of each of such louver holders on the upper marginal portions of the louvers has not always been sufficiently secure to suit the consumer. This has been a particular problem when louvers of different thicknesses of material have been used with the same holder and after louvers have had to be removed and replaced on the same holders.
There has continued to exist, therefore, a need for a holder which (i) is simple to make and install on a head rail, (ii) is simple to affix to a vertical section of an architectural covering and subsequently to detach from the vertical section, and (iii) securely affixes the vertical section to the head rail when the holder is used to move the vertical section along the length of the head rail or to rotate the section about its vertical axis.